Qantas announced that it will retire the remaining six Boeing 747 jumbo jets in its fleet by 2020.

The planes will be replaced by six additional Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

This marks the end of Boeing 747 service with Qantas, which began in 1971.

The 747 will continue to make passenger flights with other international airlines.

Boeing has sold more than 1,500 747s but has struggled to find new customers for the plane.

On Wednesday, Qantas announced that it will retire the remaining six Boeing 747s in its fleet by 2020. The announcement comes at the at the same time the Australian airline confirmed the purchase of six additional Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

The Boeing 747 has been a hallmark of Qantas' international fleet since 1971.

"This really is the end of one era and the start of another," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement. "The jumbo has been the backbone of Qantas International for more than 40 years and we've flown almost every type that Boeing built. It's fitting that its retirement is going to coincide with our centenary in 2020."

The final six Qantas jumbo jets are expected to be the six 747-400ERs delivered to the airline between 2002 and 2003. With extra fuel tanks for additional range, Qantas owns the only six 747-400ERs ever built.

Qantas announced recently that its traditional 747 service to Los Angeles will be replaced by both the Airbus A380 and the 787-9.

Although the 747 will still grace the skies above the US with foreign carriers like Lufthansa and Korean Air or with cargo carriers like UPS and Atlas, the idea that US passenger airlines will no longer operate what is arguably America's most iconic and successful airplane is sad.

Alas, economics trumps nostalgia. The reality is that the four-engined jumbo is big, expensive, and thirsty, especially when compared to twin jets like the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A350. The 777-300ER replaced the 747 at United while the A350-900 took over for jumbo at Delta.

Consumer tastes have also changed. During the 747's heyday, long-haul international flights operated almost exclusively between major hubs and frequently made several intermediate stops. These days, point-to-point flights are becoming increasingly popular, with no stops and no need to fly to a major hub — hence the popularity of smaller widebody jets like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

But before we let the grand lady of the sky fade into history, let's take a look back at its extraordinary life as the most iconic airplane in the world.

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The Boeing 747 first flew in February 1969.

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The big jet and the Everett, Washington, factory in which it was built were designed and constructed in just 16 months by a team of 50,000 Boeing employees.

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The people involved became known as the "Incredibles."

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Joe Sutter, the man who was tasked with leading the plane's engineering team, was generally regarded as the "Father of the 747."

... a new variant in late 1971 with more powerful engines and greater range called the 747-200 series.

A decade later, Boeing updated the 747 again with newer engines and an enlarged second deck. This version was called the "-300."

The -300 didn't prove to be as popular as Boeing would have liked. So in 1989, Boeing launched the -400. It featured modern avionics, a fully glass cockpit and greater range. It would go on to be the most popular of the 747 variants.

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In 2011, Boeing launched the latest version of the jumbo jet, called the 747-8. At 250 feet, it's the longest airliner ever built.

The 747 has been deployed in a variety of ways, including as a firefighting water tanker ...

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... a space-shuttle carrier ...

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a freighter ...

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... and as the official head-of-state aircraft for ...

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... the world's superpowers.

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But the 747 really became a cultural icon when it was the plane to have for the world's major airlines. For many years, it seemed as if you weren't playing in the big leagues unless you were flying the jumbo.

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Boeing has sold more than 1,500 747s.

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The venerable Boeing jumbo jet has outlasted the supersonic Concorde as well as its subsonic contemporaries like the DC-10. the DC-10's replacement the MD-11, the Lockheed L-1011, and the Airbus A340.

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Unfortunately, it looks unlikely that the jumbo jet will survive its latest slew of challengers, which include Airbus' double-deck A380 superjumbo and ...